Another "Milestone" Set with Inaugural Ceremony
09/18/09
Belton, TX -- Nearly 2,000 people gathered in the Mayborn Campus Center arena to witness another "milestone" in the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor history with the inauguration of the 22nd President, Dr. Randy O'Rear, on Friday, September 18, 2009.
After O'Rear received the Presidential Chain of Office from Chancellor Jerry Bawcom and the University Charter from Trustee Chair Andy Davis he addressed the audience filled with faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends of the university and 23 delegates representing learned societies and universities.
O'Rear took the audience through the history of the university relating five major milestones in the 164-year story. He cited the founding of the university in Independence in 1845, the decision to relocate Baylor Female College to Belton in 1886, and the construction of the first building on the Belton campus as important milestones for the university.
The next milestone included Elli Moore Townsend's historic work to provide young women who could not afford to attend college with the opportunity to work on campus to earn their education. Milestone five was the Campus Boys program, which allowed young men to attend classes for three years on the campus while working their way through school.
After recounting important events from the past, O'Rear went on to give five imperatives for the future of UMHB.
"First, we will be tenacious in carrying out our mission of preparing students for leadership, service, and faith-informed discernment in a global society," he said.
"Second, we will maintain high academic standards, challenging our students with vigorous programs. A global, complex society requires leaders who communicate effectively, who think critically, and who possess discernment and high moral character. We will produce those kinds of leaders only by upholding high academic standards for our students. Our world is becoming more difficult to lead, more challenging to serve, and more in need of faith-informed discernment than ever before. We dare not water-down our academic rigor in times like these.
"Third, we will be a university that is focused on excellent teaching and student learning. Our faculty members bring great passion for their disciplines into their classrooms, which enhances the learning environment for our students. UMHB will continue to be a place where excellent teaching is developed and rewarded.
"Fourth, we will continue to deliver the hallmark of the Mary Hardin-Baylor education, personalized attention to our students. This will consist not only of personal interaction with professors in the course of their studies; it will also include personal attention from dedicated staff members who contribute greatly to our students' success through investing in their lives outside of the classroom. Together, we will all work to help each student to grow intellectually, socially, and spiritually.
"And finally, we will be unapologetic about accomplishing all of this within a distinctively Christian environment. At a time when our culture seems to pull further and further away from Christian principles, UMHB will boldly prepare students in an environment that applauds a personal relationship with Christ."
O'Rear expressed his gratitude to his two predecessors, President Bobby E. Parker and President Jerry G. Bawcom, who were "great mentors" to him throughout is tenure as a student, a graduate, and during his 21-year career at the university. The optimism of his closing statement brought the crowd to its feet: "With the help of the faithful, caring, and dedicated faculty and staff, with the bright minds and energy of our great Mary Hardin-Baylor students, with the help of our faithful alumni and friends who invest in our work, with the support of the Board, and especially with the grace of our loving Father, I expect the brightest days for this great university are still ahead," O'Rear said.
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